Natural Language Processing · TEE · papers
Q1D · Anaphora, cataphora and coreference
Solved re-exam · February 2026
Actual re-examination · 9 February 2026 · 100 marks · 3 hours
Answer
Anaphora points backward to an expression or information introduced earlier. Cataphora points forward to an expression introduced later.
| Relation | Example | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Anaphora | “Riya arrived. She smiled.” She refers to the earlier Riya. | Backward |
| Cataphora | “Before she spoke, Riya checked the microphone.” She refers to the later Riya. | Forward |
Coreference means two or more expressions refer to the same entity. Coreference resolution groups such expressions, regardless of whether they are names, descriptions or pronouns and regardless of which is mentioned first.
For “Dr Sen arrived. The surgeon smiled. She waved,” {Dr Sen, the surgeon, She} is a coreference cluster. The latter two mentions are also backward-looking references. Coreference is an identity relation; anaphora describes a dependency on prior discourse and is not always identity. For example, “I bought a house. The roof leaks” contains a bridging reference: the roof depends on the house for interpretation, but roof and house are not the same entity.
Yaad rakho: Ana = pehle ki taraf; cata = aage ki taraf; coreference = same entity.